In this novel, our favorite gruff, no nonsense, good ol’ country doctor returns. That’s right – Dr. Katherine Pulaski is back!
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Missing
Author: Una McCormack
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Originally Published: January 1, 2015
Publisher: Pocket Books
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: June 7, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
This book has basically three plots: one with Dr. Pulaski, Peter Alden, and the Tzenkethi, Corazame; a Dr. Crusher story surrounding the mystery of the People of the Open Sky and the citizens of the Chain; and Odo and Ro working together to solve a POW mystery.
I’m generally not a big fan of Dr. Pulaski, although she’s grown on me over the years. She’s used quite well here as a member of a civilian expedition of humanitarian aid. Humanitarian may not be the right word here given the different species involved…
On Pulaski’s ship, one of the people assigned is Peter Alden of Starfleet Intelligence. He intends for his Tzenkethi ward, Corazame, to join them, but she fails to board the ship. There’s some mystery surrounding these two, and although I’m still not a big fan of Alden by the end, I think their story resolves well enough.
The Athene Donald also encounters a group calling themselves the Chain. At the same time, the People of the Open Sky show up at DS9. The People have a lot of children with them. And the People have no boundaries where the children are concerned. Kids will be kids, amiright? But the Chain is claiming that the People kidnapped their children. Dr. Crusher, the interim chief medical officer on DS9, examines the children noting signs of malnutrition. Not good. But once again, this storyline is resolved by the end and it is satisfactory.
Lastly, the POW storyline is kind of like a C-plot (the People/Chain being the A-plot and Alden/Corazame being the B-plot). Watch the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Birthright, Part 2” and you’ll get the gist.
For me, there was a little too much happening in this book. The Odo/Ro story seemed a little shoved in so they could be in the story (and to get Garak in there too). I think it would have been better to focus more on the People/Chain story and expand it more.
Also, although I enjoyed reading Captain Picard’s log entries about First Contact situations, they were very out of place in a DS9 book for my liking. Especially since Picard had nothing to do with the story.
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It really is an enjoyable read and Una McCormack is an amazing author. I just would have preferred a more focused story, personally.
